Light-Emitting Device, Lighting Device, and Manufacturing Method of Light-Emitting Device

ABSTRACT

The manufacturing method of the light-emitting device is provided in which an auxiliary electrode in contact with an electrode formed using a transparent conductive film of a light-emitting element is formed using a mask, and direct contact between the auxiliary electrode and an EL layer is prevented by oxidizing the auxiliary electrode. Further, the light-emitting device manufactured according to the method and the lighting device including the light-emitting device are provided.

This application is a continuation of copending U.S. application Ser.No. 13/187,688 filed on Jul. 21, 2011 which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a light-emitting device including alight-emitting element in which a light-emitting layer containing anorganic compound is interposed between a pair of electrodes, and alighting device including the light-emitting device. The presentinvention also relates to a manufacturing method of the light-emittingdevice.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, a light-emitting element (also referred to as anelectroluminescent (EL) element) in which a light-emitting layer(hereinafter also referred to as an EL layer) containing an organiccompound is interposed between a pair of electrodes has been activelydeveloped. Lighting has attracted attention as one of application fieldsof the light-emitting element. This is because a lighting deviceincluding the EL element has features different from those of otherlighting devices; for example, the lighting device including the ELelement can be thin and light, and perform surface emission.

As described above, an EL element has a structure in which alight-emitting layer containing an organic compound is interposedbetween a pair of electrodes. Thus, emission from the light-emittinglayer is extracted through at least one of the pair of electrodes.Accordingly, in general, at least one of the pair of electrodes in theEL element is formed using a conductive film having a property oftransmitting visible light (a transparent conductive film).

However, resistivity of a transparent conductive film is one or twoorders of magnitude higher than that of metal which easily conductselectricity. In particular, in a large-area element that is used for alighting purpose or the like, there is a problem in that change inluminance in a light-emitting region of the light-emitting element dueto voltage drop is significant. Therefore, Patent Document 1 suggeststhat a metal layer formed using a substance whose resistance is lowerthan that of the transparent conductive film is provided between thetransparent conductive film and the light-emitting layer containing anorganic compound (see Patent Document 1).

There is another problem in that under the circumstances, the cost formanufacturing a lighting device including an EL element is very high.The high manufacturing cost results in a high price of the lightingdevice, which deteriorates the competitiveness of the lighting deviceincluding an EL element even though it has the above-described featuresdifferent from those of other lighting devices. In order to spread thelighting device including an EL element, cost reduction in terms of botha material and a process is needed.

REFERENCE

-   [Patent Document 1] Japanese Published Patent Application No.    2009-140817

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In the structure, as in Patent Document 1, in which a metal layer havinghigh conductivity is provided as an auxiliary electrode to be in contactwith a transparent conductive film in order to make up for lowconductivity of the transparent conductive film, a step of forming ametal layer and a step of forming an insulating layer are additionallyrequired. An insulating layer is provided in order that power loss dueto emission at a portion overlapping with the auxiliary electrode isprevented because the emission at the portion overlapping with theauxiliary electrode cannot be extracted. However, to cover the metallayer accurately with the insulating layer, a plurality of masks whichis densely aligned might need to be used, so that capital-investmentspending for quantity production might be high.

In the case where the metal layer and the insulating layer are formedwith the same mask, the insulating layer is formed only over an upperportion of the metal layer; thus, power loss due to emission at an endor a side surface of the metal layer cannot be prevented. Further, sincea step exists in the end or the side-surface of the metal layer, whenthe coverage thereof with the EL layer is poor, short circuit betweenthe transparent conductive film and the other electrode might be caused.

In view of the above, an object of one embodiment of the presentinvention is to provide a light-emitting device and a lighting devicewhich have high reliability, small power loss, and uniform luminance ina light-emitting region and which can be manufactured at low cost.

An object of another embodiment of the present invention is to provide amanufacturing method of a light-emitting device by which an EL lightingdevice having high reliability, small power loss, and uniform luminancein a light-emitting region can be manufactured at low cost.

One embodiment of the present invention aims to achieve at least one ofthe above-described objects.

The present inventors have found that a light-emitting devicemanufactured in the following manner and a lighting device including thelight-emitting device can solve the above-mentioned problems: anauxiliary electrode is formed in contact with an electrode formed usinga transparent conductive film of a light-emitting element; and directcontact between the auxiliary electrode and an EL layer is prevented byoxidizing a surface of the auxiliary electrode. The auxiliary electrodecan be formed using a shadow mask, so that a light-emitting device or alighting device including the auxiliary electrode that is formed withoutphotolithography and complicated steps such as etching can bemanufactured. Further, an insulating film is formed by oxidizing theauxiliary electrode itself; thus, precise alignment for forming theinsulating film is not needed and increase in capital-investmentspending for a quantity production facility can be suppressed. Moreover,a surface of the auxiliary electrode except a surface being in contactwith the transparent conductive film is covered with oxide, lightemission at a portion overlapping with the auxiliary electrode or lightemission at an end or a side surface of the auxiliary electrode can besuppressed, whereby the power loss is reduced. In addition, by providingthe auxiliary electrode, a light-emitting device or a lighting devicewhich has uniform luminance in a light-emitting region can bemanufactured.

One embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting deviceincluding a substrate having a light-transmitting property with respectto visible light; a first electrode and a second electrode over thesubstrate; an EL layer between the first electrode and the secondelectrode; an auxiliary electrode containing a metal between the firstelectrode and the EL layer; and an insulating layer fanned by an oxideof the metal between the auxiliary electrode and the EL layer.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting devicehaving the above structure, in which the metal contained in theauxiliary electrode is an alkaline earth metal.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting devicehaving the above structure, in which the metal contained in theauxiliary electrode is aluminum.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting devicehaving the above structure, in which a layer in contact with the firstelectrode and the insulating layer and included in the EL layer is alayer including a composite material including a material having ahole-transport property and an acceptor substance.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting devicehaving the above structure, in which the auxiliary electrode is in theshape of a plurality of stripes.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a lighting deviceincluding the light-emitting device having the above structure.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a manufacturing method ofa light-emitting device, including the steps of: forming a firstelectrode using a transparent conductive film over a substrate having alight-transmitting property with respect to visible light; forming anauxiliary electrode containing a metal over the first electrode by usinga mask so as to be patterned; oxidizing the auxiliary electrode andforming an insulating layer by an oxide of the metal contained in theauxiliary electrode over a surface of the auxiliary electrode; formingan EL layer to cover the first electrode and the insulating layer; andforming a second electrode over the EL layer.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a manufacturing method ofa light-emitting device according to the above method, in which theauxiliary electrode is oxidized by being exposed to oxygen plasma.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a manufacturing method ofa light-emitting device according to the above method, in which theauxiliary electrode is formed using an alkaline earth metal.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a manufacturing method ofa light-emitting device according to the above method, in which theauxiliary electrode is formed using aluminum.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a manufacturing method ofa light-emitting device according to the above method, in which theauxiliary electrode is formed by a sputtering method or an evaporationmethod.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a light-emittingdevice with high reliability, less power loss, and uniform illuminancein a light-emitting region, which can be manufactured inexpensively, canbe provided.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a manufacturing method ofa light-emitting device applicable to an EL lighting device with highreliability, less power loss, and uniform illuminance in alight-emitting region, which can be manufactured inexpensively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views illustrating a light-emitting device which isone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a structural example of an EL layerapplicable to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a structural example of an EL layerapplicable to the present invention;

FIGS. 4A1 to 4E2 are views illustrating a manufacturing method of alight-emitting device which is one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views each illustrating a lighting device which isone embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a light-emitting device which is oneembodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present inventioncan be carried out in many different modes, and it is easily understoodby those skilled in the art that modes and details of the presentinvention can be modified in various ways without departing from thepurpose and the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the presentinvention is not construed as being limited to description of theembodiments.

Embodiment 1

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic topview illustrating a lighting device which is one embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of a cross section takenalong line a-b in FIG. 1B. Note that for easy understanding, themagnification ratio and the reduction ratio of each component indrawings is not constant, and thus the relationship of thickness,length, and size of each component in the drawings does not necessarilyshow the ratios of thickness, length, and size of a lighting device ofone embodiment of the present invention.

The cross-sectional view of FIG. 1A is described. FIG. 1A is across-sectional view taken along line a-b in the top view of FIG. 1B. Asa substrate 100, a substrate formed using a component that transmits atleast a wavelength of light emitted from an EL layer 104. Specifically,a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, or a substrate or film formedusing an organic resin can be used. Examples of the organic resininclude an acrylic resin, a polyester resin such as polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), apolyacrylonitrile resin, a polyimide resin, a polymethyl methacrylateresin, a polycarbonate (PC) resin, a polyethersulfone (PES) resin, apolyamide resin, a cycloolefin resin, a polystyrene resin, a polyamideimide resin, and a polyvinyl chloride resin. Such a substrate or filmused as the substrate 100 may be provided with a protection film or amember for reinforcement.

A first electrode 101 formed using a transparent conductive film isformed over the substrate 100. As the transparent conductive film,indium oxide (In₂O₃), an indium oxide-tin oxide alloy (In₂O₃—SnO₂: alsoreferred to as ITO), an indium oxide-zinc oxide alloy (In₂O₃—ZnO), zincoxide (ZnO), zinc oxide to which gallium is added, or the like can beused. Films of these conductive metal oxides are usually formed bysputtering; however, a sol-gel method or the like may also be used.Alternatively, as the first electrode 101, a thin film formed using gold(Au), platinum (Pt), nickel (Ni), tungsten (W), chromium (Cr),molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd),titanium (Ti), a nitride of a metal material (e.g., titanium nitride),or the like to have a sufficient light-transmitting property can be usedas the transparent conductive film.

Note that the above-described materials are materials having a high workfunction (specifically 4.0 eV or more) and preferably used in the casewhere the first electrode 101 is an anode. In the case where the firstelectrode 101 is a cathode, a material having a low work function(specifically 3.8 eV or less), specifically a metal element belonging toGroup 1 or 2 of the periodic table, that is, an alkali metal such aslithium (Li) or cesium (Cs), an alkaline earth metal such as magnesium(Mg), calcium (Ca), or strontium (Sr), or an alloy containing any ofthese elements (e.g., MgAg or AlLi), a rare earth metal such as europium(Eu) or ytterbium (Yb), an alloy containing any of these elements,aluminum (Al), or an alloy containing aluminum can be used. A thin filmformed using any of these materials to have a sufficientlight-transmitting property as the transparent conductive film can alsobe used as the first electrode 101.

Alternatively, a conductive high polymer can be used for the firstelectrode 101. For example, as the conductive high polymer, a π-electronconjugated conductive high polymer such as polyaniline or a derivativethereof, polypyrrole or a derivative thereof, polythiophene or aderivative thereof, or a copolymer of two or more kinds of thesematerials can be used.

Note that as in FIG. 1B, a power supply pad 101 b may be formedsimultaneously with formation of a first electrode 101 a. FIG. 1B showsan example where the first electrode 101 a forms an island shape, whichis one favorable example in terms of light-emitting area or suppressionof voltage drop. The first electrode 101 a may be separated into aplurality of island-shaped electrodes depending on the purpose orconvenience.

An auxiliary electrode 102 is formed over the first electrode 101. Asurface of the auxiliary electrode 102 other than the surface in contactwith the first electrode 101 is covered with an oxide layer 103 havingan insulating property which is oxide of a material used for theauxiliary electrode 102. As the material for the auxiliary electrode102, a metal material or an alloy material whose resistivity is low andwhose oxide is an insulator or has high resistivity can be used. As sucha material, aluminum, an alkaline earth metal, or an alloy containingeither aluminum or an alkaline earth metal can be used. The thicknessand width of the auxiliary electrode and the interval between theauxiliary electrodes may be determined in view of variation in emissionluminance of a light-emitting element which is attributed to voltagedrop due to the first electrode 101.

The transparent conductive film used as the first electrode 101 hashigher resistivity than a film formed using a conductive metal. Further,when a thickness of the transparent conductive film is thin enough tohave a light-transmitting property, a resistance of the transparentconductive film is also high. Therefore, in the case of using thetransparent conductive film for a large-area light-emitting device thatis used for a lighting purpose or the like, there is a problem in thatthe emission luminance in a light-emitting region is varied due tovoltage drop. However, since the formation of the auxiliary electrode102 can suppress the voltage drop, uniform light emission can beobtained.

Although the auxiliary electrode 102 can be formed by an existing methodsuch as photolithography, the auxiliary electrode 102 is preferablypatterned by being formed using a shadow mask. Accordingly, theauxiliary electrode 102 can be formed without photolithography andcomplicated steps accompanying the photolithography such as etching andcleaning, which leads to cost reduction. Further, the oxide layer 103having an insulating property is formed by oxidizing a surface of theauxiliary electrode 102 after the formation of the auxiliary electrode102. Therefore, precise alignment is not needed to form the oxide layer103, so that capital-investment spending for quantity production can bereduced. Furthermore, the oxide layer 103 having an insulating propertycovers an end or a side surface of the auxiliary electrode 102 inaddition to a top surface of the auxiliary electrode 102. Therefore,light emission not only from the top surface but also from the end orthe side surface of the auxiliary electrode 102 can be suppressed, sothat decrease in power efficiency can be suppressed. Moreover, since theend or the side surface of the auxiliary electrode 102 is covered withthe oxide layer 103 having an insulating property, short circuit betweenthe auxiliary electrode 102 and a second electrode 105 can be preventedeven when the EL layer 104 cannot cover a step due to the auxiliaryelectrode 102, so that the reliability of the light-emitting device isimproved.

In the above-described structure of the light-emitting device in thisembodiment which is one embodiment of the present invention, lightemission is obtained only in a region 110 where three layers, that is,the first electrode 101, the EL layer 104, and the second electrode 105overlap with each other, so that light emission that cannot be extractedis small and thus power loss is reduced, whereby the light-emittingdevice in which decrease in power efficiency can be suppressed can beprovided.

As illustrated in FIG. 1B, auxiliary electrode 102 a may have a shape ofstripes. Alternatively, the auxiliary electrode 102 a may have variousshapes such as a zigzag shape, a meander shape, an S-like shape, or afishbone shape depending on a pattern of a shadow mask. A power supplypad 102 b and a power supply pad 102 c may be formed simultaneously withthe formation of the auxiliary electrode 102 a is formed.

The EL layer 104 is formed to cover the first electrode 101, theauxiliary electrode 102, and the oxide layer 103. There is no particularlimitation on the stacked-layer structure of the EL layer 104. The ELlayer 104 may be formed by combining functional layers as appropriate,such as a light-emitting layer, an electron-transport layer containing asubstance having a high electron-transport property, a hole-transportlayer containing a substance having a high hole-transport property, anelectron-injection layer containing a substance having a highelectron-injection property, a hole-injection layer containing asubstance having a high hole-injection property, and a bipolar layercontaining a substance having a bipolar property (a substance having ahigh electron-transport property and a high hole-transport property).These functional layers other than the light-emitting layer are notnecessarily provided and another functional layer may be provided. Notethat such a stacked-layer structure is referred to as a light-emittingunit in some cases.

In this embodiment, a structure of the EL layer 104, which includes ahole-injection layer 701, a hole-transport layer 702, a light-emittinglayer 703, an electron-transport layer 704, and an electron-injectionlayer 705, is described (see FIG. 2). A structure and material of eachlayer is specifically described below.

The hole-injection layer 701 is a layer which is provided in contactwith an anode and contains a substance having a high hole-injectionproperty. The hole-injection layer 701 can be formed using molybdenumoxide, vanadium oxide, ruthenium oxide, tungsten oxide, manganese oxide,or the like. Alternatively, the hole-injection layer 701 can be formedusing a phthalocyanine-based compound such as phthalocyanine(abbreviation: H₂Pc) or copper phthalocyanine (abbreviation: CuPc); anaromatic amine compound such as4,4′-bis[N-(4-diphenylaminophenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation:DPAB) orN,N′-bis[4-[bis(3-methylphenyl)amino]phenyl]-N,N′-diphenyl-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4,4′-diamine(abbreviation: DNTPD); a high molecule such aspoly(ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT/PSS); orthe like.

Alternatively, the hole-injection layer 701 can be formed using acomposite material in which an acceptor substance is contained in asubstance having a high hole-transport property. Note that when thecomposite material in which an acceptor substance is contained in asubstance having a high hole-transport property is used, a material forforming the electrode can be selected regardless of its work function.In other words, besides a material with a high work function, a materialwith a low work function may also be used for the anode. As the acceptorsubstance, 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroquinodimethane(abbreviation: F₄-TCNQ), chloranil, and the like are given. In addition,a transition metal oxide is given. Moreover, oxides of metals thatbelong to Group 4 to Group 8 of the periodic table are given.Specifically, vanadium oxide, niobium oxide, tantalum oxide, chromiumoxide, molybdenum oxide, tungsten oxide, manganese oxide, and rheniumoxide are preferable since their electron-accepting property is high. Inparticular, molybdenum oxide is particularly preferable because of itsstability in the atmosphere, a low hygroscopic property, and easiness inhandling.

As the substance having a high hole-transport property used for thecomposite material, any of a variety of compounds such as an aromaticamine compound, a carbazole derivative, an aromatic hydrocarbon, and ahigh molecular compound (e.g., an oligomer, a dendrimer, or a polymer)can be used. The organic compound used for the composite material ispreferably an organic compound having a high hole-transport property.Specifically, a substance having a hole mobility of 10⁻⁶ cm²/Vs orhigher is preferably used. However, another substance may be usedinstead of the above described materials as long as the substance has ahole-transport property higher than an electron-transport property. Theorganic compounds that can be used for the composite material arespecifically given below.

As the aromatic amine compounds, for example, there areN,N-di(p-tolyl)-N,N-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine (abbreviation: DTDPPA),4,4′-bis[N-(4-diphenylaminophenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation:DPAB),N,N′-bis[4-[bis(3-methylphenyl)amino]phenyl]-N,N′-diphenyl-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4,4′-diamine(abbreviation: DNTPD), and1,3,5-tris[N-(4-diphenylaminophenyl)-N-phenylamino]benzene(abbreviation: DPA3B).

As the carbazole derivatives which can be used for the compositematerial, the followings are given specifically:3-[N-(9-phenylcarbazol-3-yl)-N-phenylamino]-9-phenylcarbazole(abbreviation: PCzPCA1);3,6-bis[N-(9-phenylcarbazol-3-yl)-N-phenylamino]-9-phenylcarbazole(abbreviation: PCzPCA2);3-[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-(9-phenylcarbazol-3-yl)amino]-9-phenylcarbazole(abbreviation: PCzPCN1); and the like.

Other examples of the carbazole derivatives which can be used for thecomposite material include 4,4′-di(N-carbazolyl)biphenyl (abbreviation:CBP), 1,3,5-tris[4-(N-carbazolyl)phenyl]benzene (abbreviation: TCPB),9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: CzPA), and1,4-bis[4-(N-carbazolyl)phenyl]-2,3,5,6-tetraphenylbenzene.

Examples of the aromatic hydrocarbon which can be used for the compositematerial include 2-tert-butyl-9,10-di(2-naphthyl)anthracene(abbreviation: t-BuDNA); 2-tert-butyl-9,10-di(1-naphthyl)anthracene;9,10-bis(3,5-diphenylphenyl)anthracene (abbreviation: DPPA);2-tert-butyl-9,10-bis(4-phenylphenyl)anthracene (abbreviation: t-BuDBA);9,10-di(2-naphthyl)anthracene (abbreviation: DNA);9,10-diphenylanthracene (abbreviation: DPAnth); 2-tert-butylanthracene(abbreviation: t-BuAnth); 9,10-bis(4-methyl-1-naphthyl)anthracene(abbreviation: DMNA);2-tert-butyl-9,10-bis[2-(1-naphthyl)phenyl]anthracene;9,10-bis[2-(1-naphthyl)phenyl]anthracene;2,3,6,7-tetramethyl-9,10-di(1-naphthyl)anthracene;2,3,6,7-tetramethyl-9,10-di(2-naphthyl)anthracene; 9,9′-bianthryl;10,10′-diphenyl-9,9′-bianthryl;10,10′-bis(2-phenylphenyl)-9,9′-bianthryl;10,10′-bis[(2,3,4,5,6-pentaphenyl)phenyl]-9,9′-bianthryl; anthracene;tetracene; rubrene; perylene, and 2,5,8,11-tetra(tert-butyl)perylene.Besides those, pentacene, coronene, or the like can be used. Inparticular, the aromatic hydrocarbon which has a hole mobility of 1×10⁻⁶cm²/Vs or higher and which has 14 to 42 carbon atoms is particularlypreferable.

The aromatic hydrocarbon which can be used for the composite materialmay have a vinyl skeleton. As the aromatic hydrocarbon having a vinylgroup, 4,4′-bis(2,2-diphenylvinyl)biphenyl (abbreviation: DPVBi) and9,10-bis[4-(2,2-diphenylvinyl)phenyl]anthracene (abbreviation: DPVPA)are given, for example.

Moreover, a high molecular compound such as poly(N-vinylcarbazole)(abbreviation: PVK), poly(4-vinyltriphenylamine) (abbreviation: PVTPA),poly[N-(4-{N′-[4-(4-diphenylamino)phenyl]phenyl-N-phenylamino}phenyl)methacrylamide](abbreviation: PTPDMA), orpoly[N,N′-bis(4-butylphenyl)-N,N-bis(phenyl)benzidine (abbreviation:Poly-TPD) can also be used.

A layer formed using such a composite material can be very suitably usedfor optical design that is performed to control the light-extractionefficiency, directivity, or the like of light emitted from thelight-emitting layer because the layer formed using the compositematerial hardly increases driving voltage even when the layer is formedto be thick.

Note that in the case where the hole-injection layer 701 is formed usinga composite material, a material for an electrode can be selectedregardless of its work function, as described above. In the case wherethe first electrode 101 is an anode, the composite material is used forthe hole-injection layer 701, and the oxide layer 103 is not formed,holes are injected from the hole-injection layer to the hole-transportlayer and the light-emitting layer even when the auxiliary electrode 102is formed using a material having a low work function, and lightemission occurs between the auxiliary electrode 102 and the secondelectrode 105. This light emission is blocked by the auxiliary electrode102 and cannot be extracted, leading to decrease in power efficiency.However, according to this embodiment, the oxide layer 103 having aninsulating property is formed by oxidizing the auxiliary electrode 102,so that wasted light emission does not occur and thus the decrease inpower efficiency can be suppressed. Therefore, the structure of thisembodiment is useful particularly in the case where the compositematerial is used for the hole-injection layer 701.

The hole-transport layer 702 is a layer which contains a substancehaving a high hole-transport property. Examples of the substance havinga high hole-transport property include aromatic amine compounds such as4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation: NPB),N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4,4′-diamine(abbreviation: TPD), 4,4′,4″-tris(N,N-diphenylamino)triphenylamine(abbreviation: TDATA),4,4′,4″-tris[N-(3-methylphenyl)-N-phenylamino]triphenylamine(abbreviation: MTDATA),4,4′-bis[N-(spiro-9,9′-bifluoren-2-yl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl(abbreviation: BSPB), and the like. The substances mentioned here aremainly ones that have a hole mobility of 10⁻⁶ cm²/Vs or higher. Notethat another substance may be used instead of these substances as longas the substance has a hole-transport property higher than anelectron-transport property. The layer containing a substance having ahigh hole-transport property is not limited to a single layer, and maybe a stack of two or more layers containing the substances given above.

Alternatively, a high molecular compound such as poly(N-vinylcarbazole)(abbreviation: PVK) or poly(-vinyltriphenylamine) (abbreviation: PVTPA)can be used for the hole-transport layer 702.

The light-emitting layer 703 is a layer which contains a light-emittingsubstance. The light-emitting layer 703 may be either a light-emittinglayer of a single film containing an emission center material as itsmain component or a so-called host-guest type light-emitting layer inwhich an emission center material is dispersed in a host material.

There is no particular limitation on the emission center material thatis used, and a known fluorescent material or a known phosphorescentmaterial can be used. As a fluorescent material, for example, inaddition toN,N′-bis[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N′-diphenylstilbene-4,4′-diamine(abbreviation: YGA2S), and4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGAPA), there are fluorescent materials with an emissionwavelength of greater than or equal to 450 nm, such as4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: 2YGAPPA),N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: PCAPA), perylene, 2,5,8,11-tetra-tert-butylperylene(abbreviation: TBP),4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)-4′-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: PCBAPA),N,N″-(2-tert-butylanthracene-9,10-diyldi-4,1-phenylene)bis[N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine](abbreviation: DPABPA),N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCAPPA),N-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: 2DPAPPA),N,N,N′,N′,N″,N″,N′″,N′″-octaphenyldibenzo[g,p]chrysene-2,7,10,15-tetraamine(abbreviation: DBC1), coumarin 30,N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCAPA),N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-2-anthryl]-N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCABPhA),N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: 2DPAPA),N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-2-anthryl]-N,N′,N-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine(abbreviation: 2DPABPhA),9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-N-[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N-phenylanthracen-2-amine(abbreviation: 2YGABPhA), N,N,9-triphenylanthracen-9-amine(abbreviation: DPhAPhA), coumarin 545T, N,N′-diphenylquinacridone(abbreviation: DPQd), rubrene,5,12-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl)-6,11-diphenyltetracene (abbreviation: BPT),2-(2-{2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]ethenyl}-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-ylidene)propanedinitrile(abbreviation: DCM1),2-{2-methyl-6-[2-(2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[i]]quinolizin-9-yl)ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}propanedinitrile(abbreviation: DCM2),N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(4-methylphenyl)tetracene-5,11-diamine (abbreviation:p-mPhTD),7,14-diphenyl-N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(4-methylphenyl)acenaphtho[1,2-a]fluoranthene-3,10-diamine(abbreviation: p-mPhAFD),2-{2-isopropyl-6-[2-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[ij]quinolizin-9-yl)ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}propanedinitrile(abbreviation: DCJTI),2-{2-tert-butyl-6-[2-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[ij]quinolizin-9-yl)ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}propanedinitrile(abbreviation: DCJTB),2-(2,6-bis{2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]ethenyl}-4H-pyran-4-ylidene)propanedinitrile(abbreviation: BisDCM), and2-{2,6-bis[2-(8-methoxy-1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[ij]quinolizin-9-yl)ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}propanedinitrile(abbreviation: BisDCJTM). As phosphorescent materials, for example, inaddition tobis[2-(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III)tetrakis(1-pyrazolyl)borate(abbreviation: FIr6), there are phosphorescent materials with anemission wavelength in the range of 470 nm to 500 nm, such asbis[2-(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III)picolinate(abbreviation: FIrpic),bis[2-(3′,5′-bistrifluoromethylphenyl)pyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III)picolinate(abbreviation: Ir(CF₃ppy)₂(pic)), andbis[2-(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C^(2′)]iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation: FIracac); phosphorescent materials with an emissionwavelength of greater than or equal to 500 nm (materials which emitgreen light), such as tris(2-phenylpyridinato)iridium(III)(abbreviation: Ir(ppy)₃),bis(2-phenylpyridinato)iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation:Ir(ppy)₂(acac)),tris(acetylacetonato)(monophenanthroline)terbium(III) (abbreviation:Tb(acac)₃(Phen)), bis(benzo[h]quinolinato)iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(bzq)₂(acac)),bis(2,4-diphenyl-1,3-oxazolato-N,C^(2′))iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(dpo)₂(acac)),bis[2-(4′-perfluorophenylphenyl)pyridinato]iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(p-PF-ph)₂(acac)),bis(2-phenylbenzothiazolato-N,C^(2′))iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(bt)₂(acac)),bis[2-(2′-benzo[4,5-a]thienyl)pyridinato-N,C^(3′)]iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(btp)₂(acac)),bis(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C^(2′))iridium(III)acetylacetonate(abbreviation: Ir(piq)₂(acac)),(acetylacetonato)bis[2,3-bis(4-fluorophenyl)quinoxalinato]iridium(III)(abbreviation: Ir(Fdpq)₂(acac)),(acetylacetonato)bis(2,3,5-triphenylpyrazinato)iridium(III)(abbreviation: Ir(tppr)₂(acac)),(2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphine)platinum(II)(abbreviation: PtOEP),tris(1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedionato)(monophenanthroline)europium(III)(abbreviation: Eu(DBM)₃(Phen)), andtris[1-(2-thenoyl)-3,3,3-trifluoroacetonato](monophenanthroline)europium(III)(abbreviation: Eu(TTA)₃(Phen)); and the like. The light-emittingsubstances can be selected from the above-mentioned materials or otherknown materials in consideration of the emission color of each of thelight-emitting elements.

When the host material is used, for example, the following are given:metal complexes such as tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III)(abbreviation: Alq), tris(4-methyl-8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III)(abbreviation: Almq₃), bis(10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinolinato)beryllium(II)(abbreviation: BeBq₂),bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum(III)(abbreviation: BAlq), bis(8-quinolinolato)zinc(II) (abbreviation: Znq),bis[2-(2-benzoxazolyl)phenolato]zinc(II) (abbreviation: ZnPBO), andbis[2-(2-benzothiazolyl)phenolato]zinc(II) (abbreviation: ZnBTZ);heterocyclic compounds such as2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (abbreviation:PBD), 1,3-bis[5-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]benzene(abbreviation: OXD-7),3-(4-biphenylyl)-4-phenyl-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,2,4-triazole(abbreviation: TAZ),2,2′,2″-(1,3,5-benzenetriyl)-tris(1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole)(abbreviation: TPBI), bathophenanthroline (abbreviation: BPhen),bathocuproine (abbreviation: BCP), and9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation:CO11); and aromatic amine compounds such as NPB (or α-NPD), TPD, andBSPB. In addition, condensed polycyclic aromatic compounds such asanthracene derivatives, phenanthrene derivatives, pyrene derivatives,chrysene derivatives, and dibenzo[g,p]chrysene derivatives are given.Specific examples of the condensed polycyclic aromatic compounds include9,10-diphenylanthracene (abbreviation: DPAnth),N,N-diphenyl-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: CzA1PA), 4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: DPhPA),4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)triphenylamine(abbreviation: YGAPA),N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: PCAPA),N,9-diphenyl-N-{4-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]phenyl}-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: PCAPBA),N,9-diphenyl-N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-9H-carbazol-3-amine(abbreviation: 2PCAPA), 6,12-dimethoxy-5,11-diphenylchrysene,N,N,N′,N′,N″,N″,N′″,N′″-octaphenyldibenzo[g,p]chrysene-2,7,10,15-tetramine(abbreviation: DBC1), 9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: CzPA),3,6-diphenyl-9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole(abbreviation: DPCzPA), 9,10-bis(3,5-diphenylphenyl)anthracene(abbreviation: DPPA), 9,10-di(2-naphthyl)anthracene (abbreviation: DNA),2-tert-butyl-9,10-di(2-naphthyl)anthracene (abbreviation: t-BuDNA),9,9′-bianthryl (abbreviation: BANT),9,9′-(stilbene-3,3′-diyl)diphenanthrene (abbreviation: DPNS),9,9′-(stilbene-4,4′-diyl)diphenanthrene (abbreviation: DPNS2), and3,3′,3″-(benzene-1,3,5-triyl)tripyrene (abbreviation: TPB3). From thesematerials or other known materials, a material may be selected which hasa larger energy gap (or a triplet energy if the material emitsphosphorescence) than an emission center material dispersed in thematerial and which has a transport property as needed.

The electron-transport layer 704 is a layer which contains a substancehaving a high electron-transport property. For example, a layercontaining a metal complex having a quinoline skeleton or abenzoquinoline skeleton, such as tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(abbreviation: Alq), tris(4-methyl-8-quinolinolato)aluminum(abbreviation: Almq₃), bis(10-hydroxybenzo[h]-quinolinato)beryllium(abbreviation: BeBq₂), orbis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum (abbreviation:BAlq) is used. Alternatively, a metal complex having an oxazole-based orthiazole-based ligand, such as bis[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazolato]zinc(abbreviation: Zn(BOX)₂) or bis[2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazolato]zinc(abbreviation: Zn(BTZ)₂), or the like can be used. Besides the metalcomplexes, 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole(abbreviation: PBD),1,3-bis[5-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]benzene(abbreviation: OXD-7),3-(4-biphenylyl)-4-phenyl-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,2,4-triazole(abbreviation: TAZ), bathophenanthroline (abbreviation: BPhen),bathocuproine (abbreviation: BCP), or the like can also be used. Thesubstances mentioned here are mainly ones that have an electron mobilityof 10⁻⁶ cm²/Vs or higher. Note that another substance may be used forthe electron-transport layer 704 as long as the substance has a higherelectron-transport property than a hole-transport property.

Further, the electron-transport layer 704 is not limited to a singlelayer and may be a stack of two or more layers containing the substancesgiven above.

Further, a layer for controlling transport of electron carriers may beprovided between the electron-transport layer 704 and the light-emittinglayer 703. Specifically, the layer for controlling transport of electroncarriers is a layer formed by adding a small amount of substance havinga high electron trapping property to the above-described material havinga high electron-transport property, and can adjust carrier balance bysuppressing transport of electron carriers. Such a structure is veryeffective in suppressing problems (e.g., reduction in element lifetime)caused by a phenomenon in which an electron passes through thelight-emitting layer 703.

For the electron-injection layer 705, an alkali metal, an alkaline earthmetal, or a compound thereof, such as lithium fluoride (LiF), cesiumfluoride (CsF), or calcium fluoride (CaF₂), can be used. For example, alayer in which an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, or a compoundthereof is contained in a substance having an electron-transportproperty, for example, a layer in which magnesium (Mg) is contained inAlq can be used. Note that by using a layer in which an alkali metal oran alkaline earth metal is contained in a substance having anelectron-transport property as the electron-injection layer 705,electrons are injected efficiently from the second electrode 105, whichis preferable.

In the case of using the second electrode 105 as a cathode, metal, analloy, an electrically conductive compound, a mixture thereof, or thelike having a low work function (specifically, 3.8 eV or lower) can beused as a substance for the second electrode 105. As a specific exampleof such a cathode material, an element belonging to Group 1 or 2 of theperiodic table, that is, an alkali metal such as lithium (Li) or cesium(Cs); an alkaline earth metal such as magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), orstrontium (Sr); an alloy containing any of these (e.g., MgAg or AlLi); arare earth metal such as europium (Eu) or ytterbium (Yb); an alloycontaining such a rare earth metal; and the like are given. Note thatwhen the electron-injection layer 705 is provided between the cathodeand the electron-transport layer 704, the cathode can be formed using avariety of conductive materials such as Al, Ag, ITO, or indium oxide-tinoxide containing silicon or silicon oxide, regardless of its workfunction. These conductive materials can be deposited by a sputteringmethod, a vacuum evaporation method, or the like.

In the case of using the second electrode 105 as an anode, metal, analloy, a conductive compound, a mixture thereof, or the like having ahigh work function (specifically, 4.0 eV or higher) is preferably used.Specifically, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium tin oxidecontaining silicon or silicon oxide, indium zinc oxide (IZO), indiumoxide containing tungsten oxide and zinc oxide (IWZO), or the like isgiven. Films of these conductive metal oxides are usually formed bysputtering; however, a sol-gel method or the like may also be used. Forexample, indium zinc oxide (IZO) can be formed by a sputtering methodusing a target in which zinc oxide is added to indium oxide at 1 wt % to20 wt %. Moreover, indium oxide containing tungsten oxide and zinc oxide(IWZO) can be formed by a sputtering method using a target in whichtungsten oxide is added to indium oxide at 0.5 wt % to 5 wt % and zincoxide is added to indium oxide at 0.1 wt % to 1 wt %. In addition, gold(Au), platinum (Pt), nickel (Ni), tungsten (W), chromium (Cr),molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), anitride of a metal material (e.g., titanium nitride), or the like isgiven. When the above-mentioned composite material is formed to be incontact with the anode, a material for the electrode can be selectedregardless of its work function.

Note that the EL layer 104 may have a structure in which a plurality oflight-emitting units each including at least the light-emitting layer703 is stacked between the first electrode 101 and the second electrode105 as illustrated in FIG. 3. In that case, a charge-generation layer803 is preferably provided between a first light-emitting unit 800 and asecond light-emitting unit 801 which are stacked. The charge-generationlayer 803 can be formed using the above-mentioned composite material.Further, the charge-generation layer 803 may have a stacked structure ofa layer formed using the composite material and a layer formed usinganother material. In that case, as the layer formed using anothermaterial, a layer containing an electron donating substance and asubstance having a high electron-transport property, a layer formed of atransparent conductive film, or the like can be used. A light-emittingelement having such a structure does not easily involve problems such asenergy transfer between the light-emitting units and quenching and hasmore choices of materials, thereby readily having both high lightemission efficiency and a long lifetime. It is also easy for such alight-emitting element to exhibit phosphorescence from one of thelight-emitting units and fluorescence from the other of thelight-emitting units. The light-emitting unit may be formed by combiningfunctional layers as appropriate, such as a light-emitting layer, anelectron-transport layer containing a substance having a highelectron-transport property, a hole-transport layer containing asubstance having a high hole-transport property, an electron-injectionlayer containing a substance having a high electron-injection property,a hole-injection layer containing a substance having a highhole-injection property, and a bipolar layer containing a substancehaving a bipolar property (a substance having a high electron-transportproperty and a high hole-transport property). These functional layersother than the light-emitting layer are not necessarily provided andanother functional layer may be provided. The detailed explanation ofthese layers is given above and a repeated explanation is omitted.

The structure illustrated in FIG. 3 is particularly preferable forobtaining white light emission. A high-quality light-emitting device anda high-quality lighting device can be obtained by combining thestructures illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIG. 2 with the structureillustrated in FIG. 3.

Next, a method for manufacturing the light-emitting device and thelighting device is described with reference to FIGS. 4A1 to 4E2. Notethat a material, a structure, and a detailed manufacturing method aregiven above; thus, a repeated description is omitted.

A transparent conductive film is formed as the first electrode 101 overthe substrate 100 (FIGS. 4A1 and 4A2). Although an evaporation method, asputtering method, a wet method, or the like can be selected dependingon a material of the transparent conductive film, a sputtering method orevaporation method using a shadow mask is simple and thus preferable. Inthe case where a pattern of the transparent conductive film is formedafter the formation of the transparent conductive film, aphotolithography method or the like may be performed. Note that as inFIG. 4A2, the power supply pad 101 b may be formed simultaneously withthe formation of the first electrode 101 a.

Next, a material such as aluminum, an alkaline earth metal, or an alloythereof is deposited over the first electrode 101 using a shadow mask120 by an evaporation method, a sputtering method, or the like, so thatthe auxiliary electrode 102 is formed (FIG. 4B). Then, the surface ofthe auxiliary electrode 102 is oxidized so that the oxide layer 103having an insulating property is formed (FIG. 4C1). As the method foroxidizing the surface of the auxiliary electrode, there are a method inwhich the surface is exposed to oxygen plasma, a method in which thesurface is exposed to ozone water, a method in which the surface isheated in an atmosphere containing oxygen, a method in which the surfaceis heated in an atmosphere containing oxygen and irradiated withultraviolet light, a method in which the surface is stored in theatmosphere, a method in which the surface is exposed to an oxygen flowin vacuum, and the like. In particular, the method in which the surfaceis exposed to oxygen plasma is preferable because a surface of the firstelectrode 101 can also be cleaned. Note that a power supply pad may beformed simultaneously with the formation of the auxiliary electrode 102a. The power supply pad may be formed to have the shape of the powersupply pad 102 b or the power supply pad 102 c in FIG. 4C2, for example.The power supply pad 102 b is formed to overlap with and is electricallyconnected to the first electrode 101 a. The power supply pad 102 c isformed to overlap with and is electrically connected to the power supplypad 101 b that is formed earlier than the power supply pad 102 c.

In such a manner, the auxiliary electrode 102 is formed using the shadowmask 120, whereby the auxiliary electrode 102 can be formed withoutphotolithography and complicated steps accompanying the photolithographysuch as etching and cleaning, which leads to cost reduction. Further,since the oxide layer 103 having an insulating property is formed byoxidizing the surface of the auxiliary electrode 102 after the formationof the auxiliary electrode 102, precise alignment for forming the oxidelayer 103 is not needed, so that capital-investment spending forquantity production can be reduced. Furthermore, the oxide layer 103having an insulating property covers the end or the side surface of theauxiliary electrode 102 in addition to the top surface of the auxiliaryelectrode 102; thus, light emission not only from the top surface butalso from the end or the side surface of the auxiliary electrode 102 canbe suppressed, so that decrease in power efficiency can be suppressed.Moreover, since the end or the side surface of the auxiliary electrode102 is covered with the oxide layer 103 having an insulating property,short circuit between the auxiliary electrode 102 and the secondelectrode 105 can be prevented even when the EL layer 104 cannot cover astep due to the auxiliary electrode 102, so that the reliability of thelight-emitting device is improved.

After that, the EL layer 104 is formed to cover the first electrode 101,the auxiliary electrode 102, and the oxide layer 103 (FIGS. 4D1 and4D2). The EL layer 104 may be formed by a known method such as anevaporation method or a wet method. The EL layer 104 is formed slightlylarger than the first electrode 101 a as in FIG. 4D2 so that shortcircuit between the first electrode 101 and the second electrode 105 canbe prevented even when the second electrode 105 is formed with a littlemisalignment in a later step; thus, the reliability of thelight-emitting device is improved.

Then, the second electrode 105 is formed to cover the EL layer 104. Thesecond electrode 105 may be formed by a known method such as anevaporation method or a sputtering method. Note that the secondelectrode 105 is formed to have a shape illustrated in FIGS. 4E1 and E2and may be electrically connected to the power supply pad 101 b and thepower supply pad 102 c.

Finally, a sealing substrate is bonded to the substrate 100 (alsoreferred to as an element substrate) provided with the first electrode101, the auxiliary electrode 102 (the oxide layer 103), the EL layer104, the second electrode 105, the power supply pad, and the like usinga sealing material, whereby the light-emitting device which is oneembodiment of the present invention can be obtained. Note that a spaceformed between the element substrate, the sealing material, and thesealing substrate is filled with filler. An inert gas (e.g., nitrogen orargon), an epoxy-based resin, or the like is used as the filler. As thesealing substrate, a substrate that does not transmit a wavelength oflight emitted from the EL layer 104, such as a ceramic substrate or ametal substrate, can be used in addition to a member similar to thesubstrate 100.

FIG. 6 illustrates a layout of a light-emitting device having astructure which is different from the structure illustrated in FIG. 1B.The layout in FIG. 6 and the layout in FIG. 1B can be formed using amask without a photolithography process. The film formation using a maskimposes many restrictions on layout because a region where a film is notformed cannot be surrounded by a region where a film is formed; however,by employing the layout as in FIG. 1B or FIG. 6, the light-emittingdevice which is one embodiment of the present invention can bemanufactured simply by film formation using a mask.

FIG. 1B is described in detail. In FIG. 1B, a transparent conductivefilm is formed over the substrate 100 as the first electrode 101 a. Atthis time (using the same mask), the power supply pad 102 c is formed.Next, the auxiliary electrode 102 a is formed to have a shape of stripesover the first electrode 101 a. Note that the shape of the auxiliaryelectrode is not limited to the shape of stripes. Simultaneously withthe formation of the auxiliary electrode 102 a (using the same mask),the power supply pad 102 b serving as both a wiring for applying voltageto the first electrode 101 a and a power supply pad is formed. The powersupply pad 102 b is formed to cover the power supply pad side of thefirst electrode 101 a, and thus voltage is uniformly applied at the sideof the first electrode 101 a. Since the auxiliary electrode 102 a andthe power supply pad 102 b are formed simultaneously (using the samemask), a region where a film is not formed cannot be surrounded by aregion where a film is formed, as described above; thus, space isprovided as appropriate between the auxiliary electrode 102 a and thepower supply pad 102 b as in FIG. 1B. Note that, as long as a regionwhere a film is not formed is not surrounded by a region where a film isformed, the auxiliary electrode 102 a may alternately be in contact withthe power supply pad 102 b in the upper portion and the power supply pad102 b in the lower portion so that a shape in which teeth of two combsare engaged with each other is formed. Simultaneously with the formationof the auxiliary electrode 102 a and the power supply pad 102 b, thepower supply pad 102 c may be formed to overlap with the power supplypad 101 b that is formed earlier than the power supply pad 102 c. Afterthat, the EL layer 104 is formed. The EL layer 104 is formed larger thanthe first electrode 101 a so that short circuit between the firstelectrode 101 and the second electrode 105 can be prevented even whenthe second electrode 105 is formed with a little misalignment in a laterstep; thus, the reliability of the light-emitting device is improved.After the formation of the EL layer, the second electrode 105 is formed.A projecting portion of the second electrode 105 overlaps with the powersupply pad 101 b and the power supply pad 102 c so that voltage issupplied.

Next, FIG. 6 is described in detail. In FIG. 6, a transparent conductivefilm is formed over a substrate 200 as a first electrode 201 a. At thistime (using the same mask), a cathode side power supply pad 201 b and ananode side power supply pad 201 c are formed. Then, auxiliary electrode202 a is formed over the first electrode 201 a. Although the auxiliaryelectrode 202 a illustrated in FIG. 6 has a shape of stripes, the shapeof the auxiliary electrode 202 a is not limited to the shape of stripes,as described for the auxiliary electrode 102 a in FIG. 1B. The auxiliaryelectrode 202 a is formed across the first electrode 201 a and furtherextends to overlap with the anode side power supply pad 201 c, which isdifferent from the auxiliary electrode 102 a in FIG. 1B. Thus, voltageis supplied to the first electrode 201 a through the auxiliary electrode202 a. In the structure of FIGS. 1A and 1B, since voltage is supplied bythe power supply pad 102 b, there is space between the power supply pad102 b and the auxiliary electrode 102 a and there is only the firstelectrode 101 a that is a transparent conductive film in the space;therefore, the light-emitting device having the structure illustrated inFIGS. 1A and 1B may be adversely affected by comparatively highresistance of the transparent conductive film in some degree. On theother hand, the light-emitting device illustrated in FIG. 6 is hardlyadversely affected due to voltage drop because voltage is suppliedthrough the auxiliary electrode 202 a. Note that in FIG. 6,simultaneously with the formation of the auxiliary electrode 202 a(using the same mask), an anode side power supply pad 202 b partlyoverlapping with the anode side power supply pad 201 c and a cathodeside power supply pad 202 c partly overlapping with the cathode sidepower supply pad 201 b are formed. After that, the EL layer 204 isformed to cover at least the first electrode 201 a, and then a secondelectrode 205 a is formed. In order to prevent short circuit in aportion of the second electrode 205 a where the first electrode 201 a isformed, the second electrode 205 a is formed to overlap with the ELlayer 204. The second electrode 205 a extends to the side on which thecathode side power supply pads 201 b and 202 c are provided and overlapswith the cathode side power supply pads 201 b and 202 c, so that voltageis supplied. Further, a wiring 205 b for connecting the anode side powersupply pads 201 c and 202 b with the auxiliary electrode 202 a is formedsimultaneously with the formation of the second electrode 205 a (usingthe same mask). Thus, voltage can be supplied to the anode without beingadversely affected by voltage drop due to the anode side power supplypad 201 c that is formed using a transparent conductive film.

According to the above-described structure of the light-emitting deviceor the lighting device, the formation of all components from the firstelectrode to the second electrode can be conducted using a shadow mask.A light-emitting device or a lighting device can be obtained without acomplicated photolithography process, which leads to cost reduction;thus, a light-emitting device or a lighting device can be manufacturedat lower cost.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, a lighting device in which a light-emitting devicemanufactured according to one embodiment of the present invention isused is described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.

FIG. 5A illustrates a lighting device (a desk lamp), which includes alighting portion 7501, a shade 7502, an adjustable arm 7503, a support7504, a base 7505, and a power switch 7506. Note that the lightingdevice is manufactured by using a light-emitting device, which ismanufactured according to one embodiment of the present invention, forthe lighting portion 7501. The lighting device includes, in itscategory, ceiling lights (ceiling-fixed lighting devices), wall lights(wall-hanging lighting devices), and the like in addition to the desklamp illustrated in FIG. 5A.

Note that a light-emitting device manufactured according to oneembodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting device with lowcapital-investment spending for quantity production, in which shortcircuit due to a step of an auxiliary electrode is suppressed, powerloss is reduced, and luminance in a light-emitting region is uniform.Therefore, by using the light-emitting device for the lighting portion7501 in the lighting device (the desk lamp), the lighting device (thedesk lamp) with high reliability, less power consumption, and highquality can be provided inexpensively.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example in which a light-emitting devicemanufactured according to one embodiment of the present invention isused for an interior lighting device. The light-emitting device which isone embodiment of the present invention is advantageous in increasingthe area because it includes an auxiliary electrode, and thus can beused for a lighting device having a large area like a ceiling-fixedlighting device 3001. In addition, the light-emitting device can be usedfor a wall-hanging lighting device 3002. Note that a light-emittingdevice manufactured according to one embodiment of the present inventionis a light-emitting device with low capital-investment spending forquantity production, in which short circuit due to a step of anauxiliary electrode is suppressed, power loss is reduced, and luminancein a light-emitting region is uniform. Therefore, the lighting devicewith high reliability, less power consumption, and high quality can beprovided inexpensively. As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the desk lampillustrated in FIG. 5A may also be used in a room provided with theinterior lighting device.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE

-   100: substrate, 101: first electrode, 101 a: first electrode, 101 b:    power supply pad, 102: auxiliary electrode, 102 a: auxiliary    electrode, 102 b: power supply pad, 102 c: power supply pad, 103:    oxide layer, 104: EL layer, 105: second electrode, 110: portion,    120: shadow mask, 200: substrate, 201 a: first electrode, 201 b:    cathode side power supply pad, 201 c: anode side power supply pad,    202 a: auxiliary electrode, 202 b: anode side power supply pad, 202    c: cathode side power supply pad, 204: EL layer, 205 a: second    electrode, 205 b: wiring, 701: hole-injection layer, 702:    hole-transport layer, 703: light-emitting layer, 704:    electron-transport layer, 705: electron-injection layer, 800: first    light-emitting unit, 801: second light-emitting unit, 803:    charge-generation layer, 3000: desk lamp, 3001: ceiling-fixed    lighting device, 3002: wall-hanging lighting device, 7501: lighting    portion, 7502: shade, 7503: adjustable arm, 7504: support, 7505:    base, 7506: power switch

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no.2010-167282 filed with Japan Patent Office on Jul. 26, 2010, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

1. (canceled)
 2. A light-emitting device comprising: a first pad over asubstrate; a second pad over the substrate; a first electrode betweenthe first pad and the second pad, the first electrode having alight-transmitting property; an auxiliary electrode over and inelectrical contact with the first pad, the second pad and the firstelectrode; an EL layer over the first electrode and the auxiliaryelectrode; and a second electrode over the EL layer, the secondelectrode being electrically connected to the first pad and the secondpad.
 3. The light-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein theauxiliary electrode includes aluminum or an alkaline earth metal.
 4. Thelight-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the first electrodeis a transparent conductive layer.
 5. A light-emitting devicecomprising: a first pad over a substrate; a second pad over thesubstrate; a first electrode between the first pad and the second pad,the first electrode having a light-transmitting property; an auxiliaryelectrode over and in electrical contact with the first pad, the secondpad and the first electrode, wherein a surface of the auxiliaryelectrode is oxidized so that an insulating layer is on the auxiliaryelectrode; an EL layer over the first electrode and the insulatinglayer; and a second electrode over the EL layer, the second electrodebeing electrically connected to the first pad and the second pad.
 6. Thelight-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the auxiliaryelectrode includes aluminum or an alkaline earth metal.
 7. Thelight-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the first electrodeis a transparent conductive layer.
 8. The light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 5, wherein the insulating layer is essentially anoxide of a material included in the auxiliary electrode.
 9. Alight-emitting device comprising: a first pad over a substrate; a secondpad over the substrate; a first electrode between the first pad and thesecond pad, the first electrode having a light-transmitting property; anauxiliary electrode over and in electrical contact with the first pad,the second pad and the first electrode; a third pad over and inelectrical contact with the first pad; a fourth pad over and inelectrical contact with the second pad; an EL layer over the firstelectrode and the auxiliary electrode; and a second electrode over theEL layer, the second electrode being electrically connected to the firstpad and the third pad.
 10. The light-emitting device according to claim9, wherein the auxiliary electrode includes aluminum or an alkalineearth metal.
 11. The light-emitting device according to claim 9, whereinthe first electrode is a transparent conductive layer.
 12. Alight-emitting device comprising: a first pad over a substrate; a secondpad over the substrate; a first electrode between the first pad and thesecond pad, the first electrode having a light-transmitting property; anauxiliary electrode over and in electrical contact with the first pad,the second pad and the first electrode, wherein a surface of theauxiliary electrode is oxidized so that an insulating layer is on theauxiliary electrode; a third pad over and in electrical contact with thefirst pad; a fourth pad over and in electrical contact with the secondpad; an EL layer over the first electrode and the insulating layer; anda second electrode over the EL layer, the second electrode beingelectrically connected to the first pad and the third pad.
 13. Thelight-emitting device according to claim 12, wherein the auxiliaryelectrode includes aluminum or an alkaline earth metal.
 14. Thelight-emitting device according to claim 12, wherein the first electrodeis a transparent conductive layer.
 15. The light-emitting deviceaccording to claim 12, wherein the insulating layer is essentially anoxide of a material included in the auxiliary electrode.